Sessions promises to protect catfish farmers from foreign competition

Alabama's catfish farmers say they need increased testing on imports and a federal "country of origin" labeling requirement on catfish and seafood sold to restaurants if they are to stay afloat, and U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions, (R-Ala.), has promised to help them, according to a story on southeastfarmpress.com.

"I believe manufacturing products and commodity production is a huge, essential part of a healthy economy," Sessions was quoted as saying on a visit to Auburn University’s Fish Farming Center in Greensboro.

"The way I see it, when you produce catfish, you sell it, collect money all around the region and bring it back here," he said in the story. "It goes to the landowner, the farmer, the workers, the manufacturers and the fertilizer and feed suppliers. All those people benefit. Whereas when you buy it from abroad, all that money just stays abroad, and it’s not good for our economy."

Sessions listened as farmers described sustainability issues facing the American catfish industry, the story said. Farmers said foreign competition is a major factor in decreased domestic catfish production, and imported catfish is not held to the same standards.

Sessions said at the gathering that he believes the 2012 farm bill requiring imported species to be subject to the same food safety regulations as domestically produced catfish could contain a lot of opportunities for Southern farmers, and he pledged to continue working for those opportunities.